Industrial manslaughter laws have been passed in Queensland, which will mean that a company or individual found guilty of industrial manslaughter may now be liable for a fine of up to $10 million, while an individual senior officer may be liable to a term of up to 20 years' imprisonment. [ + ]

With questions surrounding the future of the Australian manufacturing industry with our automotive closures, a new report commissioned by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) has found that the Australian manufacturing industry is larger and more dynamic than currently estimated. [ + ]

Advantech has received an award from ROI Management Consulting for its Industry 4.0-compliant digital factory. The award was given to honour its achievements as a pioneer in the practical implementation of "real-time equipment and resource monitoring". [ + ]

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has announced that Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited (SECCO) will upgrade its operator training simulator (OTS) system to the Honeywell Connected Plant UniSim Competency Suite. [ + ]

The Indigenous STEM Professional Awards are part of the Indigenous STEM Education Project, funded by the BHP Billiton Foundation and delivered by CSIRO. [ + ]

The Industrial Robotics and Machine Vision zone at the Guangzhou Automation Fair in March 2018 has already been sold out, reflecting the growing demand for robotics and automation technology in China. [ + ]

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS has been awarded the Vanderlande Supplier Award 2017 for its outstanding operational excellence and responsive supply chain, high innovative capability and strong competitiveness. [ + ]

Australia's largest independent dedicated oil and gas company, Woodside Petroleum, and National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) have taken up the high-profile roles as Principal Sponsors of next year's Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG 2018). [ + ]

An MES/MOM Methodologies Certificate of Competency training event is to be held in Melbourne in November. [ + ]

Rio Tinto has successfully completed the first fully autonomous rail journey at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia as the company progresses towards full commissioning of its AutoHaul project in late 2018. [ + ]

To be staged at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre from 14–16 March, AOG 2018 will once again bring petroleum industry specialists together in Australia to display the latest in technology and to hear from leading experts from around the globe. [ + ]

Lockheed Martin has announced it is partnering with the University of Sydney and RMIT University on research projects to develop advanced technologies that will have significant implications for both defence and commercial space-based applications. [ + ]

CSIRO has released a roadmap addressing the long-term needs of the Australian oil and gas industry, identifying how research and innovation can support this evolving sector. [ + ]

IFR has predicted that 1.7 million new industrial robots will be installed in factories worldwide by 2020, with China leading the charge. [ + ]

Endress+Hauser is expanding its quality measurement portfolio through the acquisition of IMKO Micromodultechnik, a manufacturer of moisture measurement systems. [ + ]